Magic Legend Tracy McGrady Reflects on Orlando Career: 'I Surprised Myself'

Hall of Fame guard Tracy McGrady, spent four of his 16 career seasons in Orlando, where he averaged 28.1 points, 7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.

When Tracy McGrady signed with the Orlando Magic on August 3rd, 2000, it was in hopes of becoming the face of a franchise, an opportunity he didn't receive during his first three career seasons on the Toronto Raptors. 

Over those 192 games as a member of the Raptors, McGrady averaged just north of 11 points per game, with his third and final season being his best - posting 15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. 

But playing as the second scoring option behind Vince Carter, McGrady opted to bet on himself in the offseason, signing a seven-year, $92.8 million dollar contract with the Magic.

And joining him in Orlando that free agency was Grant Hill, a bonafide star, who made five All Star appearances in his first six seasons with the Detroit Pistons. 

However, another star and former No. 1 pick and San Antonio Spurs legend was also flirting with joining the two young guards in Central Florida. 

“Orlando, Miami, San Antonio, Chicago, New York, all these teams came knocking and Orlando just felt like the right fit,” Hill said. “I knew (Tracy McGrady) was coming. There was also a chance, Tim Duncan. We were kind of building our own Big 3, if you will. It didn’t quite pan out that way though.

“I don’t know. I mean, he was definitely interested and you see Tim now in his career and you can’t imagine him anywhere else. … I don’t know how real it was or how much he really was seriously thinking, but I know when we went on our visit, I thought we had him, and turns out we didn’t.”

While Hill's stint in Orlando was derailed by injuries, playing less than 50% of possible games over his six seasons, McGrady made a name for himself in historic fashion. 

In his first season, the former third fiddle in Toronto erupted for over 28.1 points 7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per , while making his first career All Star Game and being crowned Most Improved Player of the Year. 

"I had to go put in the work, you know, and I'm not even gonna lie, I surprised myself on what I was able to accomplish in terms of scoring," McGrady said on The Pivot Podcast. 

McGrady would be named an All Star in each of his four seasons in Orlando, including leading the league in scoring twice and finishing fourth in MVP voting in 2003. 

"They didn't know. No, they didn't know," McGrady said. "What I did in Orlando, they didn't know. No one knew that; no one knew that, right? I showed that I was athletic, I showed I was skilled, but that sh*t that was in Orlando was on a whole other level, bro. I was doing sh*t that nobody did since the Bob McAdoo days, you know what I mean?"

Now regarded as one of the greatest players in Magic history, it is hard to imagine what a team consisting of McGrady, Duncan and a healthy Hill could look like. 

Orlando is back in action on Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

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You can follow Riley Sheppard on Twitter @RileyDSheppard.

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